A Fun Day of Sewing

Yesterday I decided it was time to get to work sewing together the little iron caddy for when I carry my travel iron to and from quilting classes. Since I'm taking a class at the end of April, there was no time to waste. You might recall that I purchased the pattern for this while visiting the Going Batty quilt shop in Reno, Nevada. It was the perfect size for my little travel iron. This is the one I saw made up in the quilt shop. So cute. Mine is the Caddy Pad Jr.

The pattern included a sheet of heat resistant fabric to be used for the lining, which was very handy. It is sold by the yard all over the internet and at your local quilt shop. The instructions were easy to follow and quite detailed, and so this went together easily within a couple of hours. First, I was instructed to make a template for the center markings. I used freezer paper for this. I ironed it onto the lining and it stuck without shifting. Once I had the lines drawn around it, I just peeled it up.

Next, I drew in all the lines from the diagram, made a quilt sandwich using the outer fabric and two layers of scrap batting. (I always use Warm and Natural or Warm and White.) Then I pinned the whole thing together. 

Usually I use a crappy cone thread in my bobbin. For this project, I knew the bobbin thread was going to be showing on the outside. I had a bobbin already wound with Bottom Line thread. I don't usually like using it since it messes up my tension. There are a lot of folks out there who swear by Bottom Line. I am not one of them. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to test it out. Also, I've never sewn on this heat resistant fabric. That, along with two layers of batting had me a little spooked. I used a regular cotton thread on top and a 90/14 machine quilting needle. My machine has a dual feed, but different machines might require a walking foot. I sewed a little test line on the outside of the eventual cutting line. Looks fine from the top.

Then, I flipped it over to see how the Bottom Line was performing on the other side. Well...it might help to clean the lint from beneath the throat plate. After that, it worked beautifully.

And so I was off and sewing. I sewed the first line of stitches in the center,

And then checked again on the other side. Looking good.

And then I sewed in all the lines, and trimmed the edges. The pattern suggested that scissors might work better than a rotary cutter. I can't cut a straight line with scissors, and so I used the rotary cutter with no problem.

The scariest part was cutting off the corners.

When I had that finished, I turned it over and I was well on my way to having a finished caddy.

Next, I was instructed to sew on a binding using my favorite method. The pattern contained a good explanation of how to do those greater than 90-degree corners.

Before I turned the binding to the other side, I sewed on the elastic loops.

Usually, I would hand sew a binding, but for this purpose, I thought machine sewing might be stronger, and so I did that.

Then, I added handles,

And buttons.

And then, I was ready for the moment of truth. For one thing...would it fit? And it did...perfectly.

It's a bit of a puzzle folding it up. Fortunately, there is a helpful video on the internet that shows you how to do this. If you can't see the video, click right here. 

And there it is!

This was so simple and fun to make, and it folds into a tidy little package. The heat resistant liner means that I'll be able to pack away my iron, even if it's still hot. I'm so happy with it!

So the end of the month is approaching, and I still have a few things on my list of goals to get finished. I'm not sure I'm going to make it. The kids are coming up for ham dinner tomorrow, and I'm getting a head start today by boiling some eggs, making a salad, and getting a pie crust ready to go. That shouldn't take too long. As for sewing, I'm going to get to work making up the next block for the Live, Love, Teach quilt...this one from Callis.

I have in mind to applique the yellow petals as one piece, and then fill in the details with thread. That way, I can do the embroidery in the center through just one layer of fabric. That shouldn't take too long. If I have time, I'll get to work on the little tissue cover I'm making as a pay-it-forward gift. 

There are a lot of these online, but I'm using this one from Fun with Barb.

It's a busy day ahead...better get going. Oh yes! And I almost forgot...we're going out tonight to celebrate 400 days until Mike's retirement. That happened on Thursday. Yes, we're counting...it's as good a reason to celebrate as any, we figure.